Heroes in the Dark: chapter 17
Time now seemed to pass without consequence. Did it really matter how long he stayed here? Although Tokoyami still ached for his old life, it didn't seem like something he could so readily return to given the situation. Certainly his old classmates were already beginning their second semester, and he…well, he was still stuck here.
Tokoyami pressed his back against the wall of the training area and slid down into a sitting position with a sigh. He looked out across the room and its heavily charred floors to where Dabi was standing aloofly, waiting for him to get up and engage him in another sparring session. It was endless with him sometimes. Although there were days when he never appeared at all, instead going about his own business and leaving Tokoyami to his own devices within the small perimeters of his room. Now that Dabi was the one waiting on him, Tokoyami decided that he'd better just sit in place for a while. But of course that couldn't go his way either.
The door to the room opened up, much to his surprise – they hadn't been disturbed before in the few weeks since this routine began. Magne poked her head in, looking around the room over the top of her glasses and surveying the visibly damaged area until her eyes settled on Dabi. "OH! I was told you'd be here, but why on earth would you be in a place like this?"
"I could ask you the same question. What's going on?" Dabi asked, striding over to meet her.
They talked back and forth to each other, just outside of Tokoyami's hearing range. Pssst, Dark Shadow, do you know what they're saying?
Just how do you expect me to know?!
After a bit, Dabi turned back around and called out, "Hey, villain meeting, you're invited. Why don't you come and say hello?"
That sounds detestable. But Tokoyami found himself getting up and heading towards the two of them anyway. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't surprising to find that it actually was a meeting being attended by the League. Coming through the door, Twice caught sight of him and offered up a friendly wave. He looked excited. Mr. Compress and Shigaraki were talking in hushed tones off to the side.
He didn't notice Togo until she was standing right next to him, startling him just a bit. "You're still wearing the clothes I got you!" she sang, smiling smugly.
Tokoyami leaned away from her cautiously. He knew better at this point than to let her get too close. "It's literally all I have in the drudgery of this darkness," he sighed dramatically.
"Oh! I can get you more. We're pretty much the same size, after all," Toga said, laughing at his discomfort.
I had a feeling that was the case, but she didn't have to say it…"Please don't. I wouldn't want to owe someone like yourself any favors."
Shigaraki quickly ended his conversation with Mr. Compress and turned to address the others. Seeing Tokoyami, he couldn't help but growl in disapproval. "Did I say to bring the kid along?"
Magne shrugged. "You didn't say he couldn't be here. There's no harm."
Shigaraki shook his head, but moved on without delay. "Fine, whatever. More importantly, I've been trying to keep in touch with you all over the past two weeks, with varying levels of success. I know Twice has an announcement to make, but if anyone else has something worth mentioning, best do it now. I only ever said to keep a low profile, but any leads regarding potential allies or integral information is just as important…" The room was quiet. It was like a case of nobody wanting to admit that they didn't do their homework. Toga fiddled mindlessly with her phone charms and Spinner inspected his claws, waiting for Shigaraki to move on. "Alright. That's fine. Twice talked with me about this beforehand, but he's eager to share."
Twice nodded his head and stood a little straighter. "Yes! Well, you know, you never know who you'll find on the streets. But this guy, I came across him randomly, and by that I mean I was searching for him. There's something kinda…wrong with his head, but that's nothing new with us! Anyway, I saw his quirk do all kinds of messed up stuff, it was awesome! And terrifying! He's totally interested in joining us! And I think yes. He definitely should. He'll destroy this alliance."
Shigaraki rubbed his temples, staving off an apparent headache, but displayed patience when dealing with Twice. He took the announcement from there. "From what I understand, it's some kind of yakuza group looking for recognition. This leader guy is one thing, but adding his forces to ours will prove beneficial to both of us. Twice got in contact with them first, so I'm in the process of setting up an arrangement for us to meet with this person. He seems reasonable enough, so long as he understands that he'll be working under me. Twice and I will be meeting him in a secure location. I want to take some of you all along too, of course, to ensure that we make the right impression. I was thinking Mr. Compress, Toga, and Dabi – "
"Nah, I'll pass."
Shigaraki simmered quietly, gritting his teeth. "Okay? Mr. Compress, Toga, and Magne will come along to meet this guy. Any objections?"
"Mmm, if I don't get to stab anyone, then it sounds boring," Toga said. She still seemed to be rather pleased with the arrangement, though.
"Man, why'd you even have me come here if I was never gonna do anything," Spinner grumbled.
"It's not important who comes. What matters is having this gentleman and his followers aid us. We could use some more hands around here if we're to excel in our plans," Mr. Compress lectured.
"Ooh! We have plans?" Toga asked with sincere sarcasm.
"And if that's the case, then is that why Kurogiri isn't here?" Magne questioned with more seriousness. Sure enough, the looming figure cloaked in mist was strangely absent. Usually a key member to stand alongside Shigaraki, the right hand villain had been out of sight for quite some time.
"He's off running errands and can't be here right now. I'll have him back for a moment on the night where we rendezvous with the new recruits so he can teleport us to the location, but beyond that I have him a bit busy at the moment," Shigaraki assured.
"That's all well and good, but isn't there anything we should be informed of further going ahead?" Mr. Compress urged. "It's a waste of our resources in these trying times if we don't know everything that's going on."
Shigaraki waved aside all the curious gazes aimed towards him. "I can't claim anything with utter certainty. Things will be more fleshed out once these deals come through. After getting our forces slashed, the most important thing now is convincing people to our side. You all know that already. Until we have that, I can't promise anything. That's why I've been asking for you to search for possible candidates. I would hope you'd be keeping that in mind after all this time. Now more than ever there are villains coming out of the woodwork looking for a cause and we're supposed to be who they turn to." He spread his arms wide in a crudely welcoming gesture. "Despite our numbers, we're in a position of great power right now, and we can't afford to be slacking off. If not for Twice bringing in new potential recruits, my plans would be at a standstill!"
The group of villains didn't seem very impressed, aside from a still beaming Twice.
Spinner scoffed. "I think that's a bit too much credit. Even if their strong, it's their morals and dedication to a cause that's most important. Not just anyone can be as ambitious as us."
"You're just butthurt that you can't come with us to meet the newbies," Toga teased.
"Don't worry, we'll have you along for a different mission in the future, maybe with a much cooler role to play," Twice said, patting his scaly shoulder. "Now wouldn't that be miserable?"
"It doesn't matter," Shigaraki hissed, thoroughly exasperated at this point. "We need power right now, okay?!"
"Speaking of which," Magne chimed in, "How has young Tokoyami's training been coming along? It looks like he's been training a lot."
That question seemed to irritate him further. "So what? We still can't do anything with him."
Still? I should've figured, Tokoyami thought to himself. Even after two weeks, it didn't surprise him that his fate was still so underwhelmingly uncertain."I have indeed been training quite a bit, since you brought it up."
"That's so good to hear!" Toga said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "When do I get to take you out for a night in the town? I wanna show you my favorite scenes and pastimes."
"Never," Tokoyami growled. Even if it meant being outside of this facility, there was no way he'd be safe out there with her and he had no intention in getting wrapped up in her "pastimes."
"Not now, anyway," Shigaraki said. "But besides that, why is he still here? I'm trying to have an important discussion with you lot but it's becoming exceeding difficult. We don't need that one to be present here."
Mr. Compress stepped forward. "Come now, he isn't doing us any harm. It's a show of faith to have him here with us, wouldn't you say?"
"That's why I can't have him be here. Dabi, would you take him back to his room?"
"Why should I?"
Shigaraki's tired red eyes narrowed into thin slits, his burning hate only vainly concealed. "You're literally the only one here who knows where his room is. Dabi, please get that kid out of here and come back here. I shouldn't have to beg you further."
Dabi shrugged indifferently. "Alright, but no guarantee that I'll be back so quickly."
"That's fine," Shigaraki sighed in resignation.
"Aww, Birdie's leaving so soon? When will I actually get to play with him?" Toga pouted.
"You should come take my place training him sometime. He still needs to work on close-range reflexes," Dabi said as he exited the room. That seemed to make the girl happier than what a normal person would be.
Tokoyami hurriedly left the room in his wake, eager to leave them all behind. "You'd better not plan on leaving me alone with that girl. It might surprise you to know that I don't very well trust her."
"No big deal; you'll warm up to her," Dabi said, although it sounded like even he didn't believe that.
"Doubtfully."
"Who knows, maybe someday you'll have to work alongside her. Now wouldn't that be an interesting experience?"
"Speaking of which, I'm surprised you didn't take up Shigaraki's offer to join him on this new mission."
Dabi looked back at him with a smirk. "It's really just a formality thing from the sounds of it. But no, I'm still going. You can come too, ya know."
Tokoyami sputtered to a stop in the hallway. They were far enough from the room where the rest of the alliance was gathered that they couldn't be heard, but still he lowered his voice to a whisper. "And from the sounds of that this whole thing is a farce. Why are you intentionally annoying Shigaraki like that. It doesn't sound very safe. And what gave you the bright idea that inviting me along would make any of it better? I have literally nothing to gain from accompanying you, except for getting into some very unwanted trouble with the person who looks like he wants to strangle me the most."
"Hey, brighten up. Do you really think anything bad will happen when you have me around?" Tokoyami glared at him silently, but Dabi laughed in his face. "Heh, yeah that's fair. Why should I care if you're cooped up in here with no idea of what's going on around you?"
"If we get caught, regardless of what happens, I want you to know that it will be entirely your fault."
"Do you really think I care about that? Who knows, maybe meeting these yakuza people will prove to be reeeeally interesting. Or not. But I'm not gonna be standing next to Shiggs if something doesn't go as plan. That's why you and me can watch from the sidelines, and nobody else needs to know. Got it?"
Tokoyami nodded carefully. He would never admit how intrigued he actually was to witness their recruitment strategies. Getting roped into something like this didn't come off as being all that unfavorable, especially given how long he'd been locked up in this facility. While he doubted it would offer him any sort of opening to escape under the villain's scrutiny, it was still worth being a part of it if he could learn more about what was happening beyond his understanding. Whatever the case, it was Dabi's plan to enact. Tokoyami could only hope that whatever happens doesn't lead him further astray than he already was.